Senate Bill Outlines New Strategy to Combat Illicit Gold Mining

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The new U.S. legislation aims to put in place a multi-year strategy to combat illicit gold mining activities in the Western Hemisphere, with a focus on artisanal and small-scale mining.

S.797, the United States Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Act, was introduced for the first time by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida in March last year. The bill, which moved out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is currently placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar for further action.

The legislation highlights the tremendous volume of illicit mining activities in Latin American countries, which are allegedly one of the key funding source for drug cartels and terrorist groups.

The recent report published by the Geneva- headquartered Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime indicates that more than 70% of the gold mined in several Latin American countries, especially in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, are mined through illicit means.

Also, nearly 80% of the gold mined in Venezuela is mined illicitly. It must be noted that the U.S. Treasury had earlier imposed sanctions on Minerven- a part of joint venture that receives much of the mined Venezuelan gold and is allegedly plays an illicit role in promoting the Nicholas Maduro administration.

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